Updating Results

Doctor of Medicine (NSW)

Doctorate (PhD)

The Doctor of Medicine at The University of Notre Dame Australia is a four-year postgraduate degree accredited by the Medical Board of Australia. It includes clinical placements, problem-based learning, and a focus on bioethics, aiming to train ethical and compassionate doctors.

Key details

Degree Type

Doctorate (PhD)

Duration

4 - 4 years full-time

Course Code

5142, 095688K

Study Mode

In person

Intake Months

Jan

International Fees

$81,000 per year

About this course

Overview

Are you curious about medical research or clinical practice? The Doctor of Medicine of The University of Notre Dame Australia is a four-year postgraduate degree accredited by the Medical Board of Australia on the recommendation of the Australian Medical Council. You will undertake clinical placements in the third and fourth year in various settings, including aged care facilities, public and private hospitals, general practice, and community-based services in urban and rural areas across Australia. Extend your medical career today.

Why study this degree?

As the only medical program offered by a Catholic university in Australia, the Doctor of Medicine aims to develop and train caring and ethical doctors imbued with the values of compassion, respect, and service. All students at Notre Dame undertake a Core Curriculum component of the study that involves an exploration of bioethics in the first year of the program.

The first and second years of your studies provide a solid foundation for your medical degree. You will have the opportunity to undertake problem-based learning tutorials conducted by medically-qualified tutors, clinical and communication skills sessions, workshops, clinical debriefing tutorials and site visits. In the second year, you will begin to work on a research-based or professionally-focused project on one of 10 themes: Clinical Science, Bioethics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health, Rural Medicine or Medical Leadership and Health Policy.

In the third year, you will undertake a series of clinical placements in hospitals and community settings where you will engage with patients, their families and the healthcare professionals caring for them. This strong focus on experiential learning is further complemented by a series of weekly 'Back-to-Base Days', in which you will return to your principal Clinical School for short case tutorials, grand rounds, journal club sessions and expert guest lectures.

Your fourth and final year will see you complete further clinical placements. You will explore a range of disciplines in a range of health settings and present your project for examination in the Applied Research Project course of study. Following the fourth-year end-of-year examinations, you will commence a four-week elective learning period where you can extend your medical knowledge in an area of personal interest.

Essential elements of our Medical postgraduate degree include:

Access to innovative clinical skills training
Learning from clinical academics who are experts in their fields
Aboriginal health, rural and remote placements
A problem-based learning curriculum delivered in small groups in years one and two
Clinical placements in both the public and private sector hospitals in years three and four
A liberal arts education in bioethics
Applied research project in an area of interest to you

Entry requirements

Admission to the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program is currently only available to Australian citizens, Australian permanent humanitarian visa holders, Australian permanent residents and New Zealand citizens.

International students please select international at the top of the page for relevant information on international admission.

Domestic applicants are required to apply for admission via GEMSAS. Full admission requirements will be published in the GEMSAS Guide each year. Applicants should refer to this guide for further details before applying.

Applicants for the Doctor of Medicine will be selected for admission based on the following criteria:

Bachelor's degree (recognised by the Australian Qualifications Framework or the National Office of Overseas Skills Recognition Guide) within the last 10 years, or be in the final year of a Bachelor's degree in any discipline.
GAMSAT
Grade Point Average
Casper score from the online Situational Judgement Test (see key dates). For more information on Casper and how to register for the tests, refer directly to https://acuityinsights.app/
Interview: The School of Medicine uses an online Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) format.

International Applicants will be selected for admission based on the following criteria:

A Bachelor's degree that has been recognised as equivalent to an Australian Bachelor's degree, AQF Level 7 and which has been taught and assessed in English within the last 10 years, or to be in the final year of an eligible Bachelor's degree.
An overall weighted Grade Point Average of 5.2 or higher on a 7 point scale, calculated from the applicant's most recent three years of undergraduate study.
Unweighted GAMSAT Score of at least 50 (in all sections and overall) or overall MCAT score of at least 500.
This year the School of Medicine is using a live online panel interview for all international candidates. This is to help all of us to get to know each other. All candidates will be asked the same interview questions by the panel and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions at the end.

International applicants for the Doctor of Medicine are required to submit the following:

Completed international application form
Certified copies of academic transcripts
Certified proof of English language proficiency
Certified copies of GAMSAT or MCAT results
Additional documents as outlined in the international application form

International applicants should apply directly to the University, not through GEMSAS.

Study locations

Sydney

What you will learn

Learning outcomes

Clinical Practice: the medical graduate as practitioner

Listen and respond effectively and acceptably to patients, their family/carers, doctors, and other health professionals.
Elicit, and record legibly, an accurate, organised and problem-focussed medical history, including family and social occupational and lifestyle features, from the patient, and other sources.
Perform a full and accurate physical examination, including a mental state examination, or an organ/system/problem-focussed examination, as indicated, and record the findings legibly and unambiguously.
Integrate and interpret findings from the history and examination, to arrive at an initial assessment including relevant differential diagnoses.
Discriminate between possible differential diagnoses, justify the decisions taken, and evaluate their outcomes.
Select and justify common investigations, with regard to the pathological basis of disease, utility, safety and cost effectiveness.
Interpret the results and confirm or modify clinical decisions and actions appropriately.
Select, justify, and perform safely a defined range of procedures.
Make clinical judgments and decisions based on the available evidence.
Alone or in conjunction with colleagues, according to level of training and experience, identify and justify relevant management options.
Elicit patients' questions and their views, concerns, and preferences, promote rapport, and ensure patients' full understanding of their problem(s).
Involve patients in decision-making and planning their treatment, including communicating risks and benefits of management options.
Provide information to patients, and family/carers where relevant, (and confirm their understanding) to enable them to make a fully informed choice among various diagnostic, therapeutic and management options.
Undertake clinical practice which integrates prevention, early detection, health maintenance and chronic disease management wherever relevant.
Prescribe medications safely, effectively, and economically, based on objective evidence.
Safely administer other therapeutic agents including fluid, electrolytes, blood products and selected inhalational agents.
Recognise and assess deteriorating and critically unwell patients who require immediate care and initiate that care.
Perform common emergency and life support procedures safely, including caring for the unconscious patient and performing CPR to an accepted standard.
Care compassionately for patients at the end of life, avoiding unnecessary investigations or treatment, and ensuring physical comfort including pain relief, psychosocial support, and other components of palliative care.
Undertake care which places the safety of patients and their needs at its centre.
Practise safety skills including infection control, graded assertiveness, adverse event reporting and effective clinical handover.
Retrieve, interpret and record information accurately and effectively in health data systems, and in conducting and reporting research (both paper and electronic).

Career pathways

Career opportunities

A Doctor of Medicine degree can lead to many career opportunities depending on your area of specialisation or interest. Careers include General practice, Surgery, Physician, Public health, Medical Education, Medical research, Government departments, Not-for-profit organisations.

Course structure

Program summaryYear One

Foundations of a Medical Vocation

Year Two

Foundations of Clinical Practice

Year Three

Apprenticeships in Clinical Practice

Year Four

Preparation for Internship
Applied Research Project

Full details of the program requirements are contained in the Program Requirements.

More information regarding courses can be found at the course descriptions page.

How to apply

How to Apply

International applicants for the Doctor of Medicine are required to submit the following:

Completed international application form
Certified copies of academic transcripts
Certified proof of English language proficiency
Certified copies of GAMSAT or MCAT results
Additional documents as outlined in the international application form

Applications can be submitted online at www.notredame.edu.au/forms/apply